Asia Retail Congress: Focus on issues impacting retail

The Asia Retail Congress, an important global platform

to promote world-class retail practices took off today. The focus of the two day event is to discuss and influence the issues for change. Aimed at the who’s who of domestic and global retail companies, attendees would be a part of over 50 educational sessions, while getting an opportunity to network under one roof.

Focus on rural marketing

“This year, we are dedicating a day to rural marketing. We would also felicitate 50 top retail professionals from India. The event would also witness discussions on topics like consumer trends & insights, purchase behavior and triggers, evolution of retailing in Asia, winning models for the future, end customer- choice & competitive pricing, impact on traditional retail formats in India, FDI & modern trade among many others,” explains Aalok Pandit, Project Head, Asia Retail Congress.

Apart from the informative and intelligent sessions on the retail industry, retailers would be honoured with awards under categories like: retail marketing campaign of the year (offline), impactful retail design & visual merchandising, retail best employer of the year, customer loyalty program reward, shopping centre of the year award, effective retail through supply chain, innovative retail concept of the year, retailer of the year (real estate), retailer of the year (mall), online retail marketing campaign of the year, online retail launch site of the year, online retail mobile site of the year, best use of social media in marketing, best technology initiative/implementation, premium online payment brand award, property consultant of the year (residential), property consultant of the year (commercial) and most admired real estate website of the year.

Talking about the journey of Asia Retail Congress, Pandit says, “Way back in 2003, retail was just getting into an organized role. Mall culture was in its infancy with a few shopping centres and malls. Retail was the buzzword and all wanted to join the bandwagon. We wanted to offer an independent platform for the entire retail fraternity to network. Now, it’s our 10th anniversary and the journey has been fruitful. Despite the presence of a huge national retail body and a commercial retail body, we have managed to carve a niche.”